Unemployment and Underemployment Rates Still Up

I hate to spoil your labor day weekend but here are the latest figures from the Labor Department.

Technically, companies hired more workers, adding a net total of 67,000 new jobs last month and both July and June’s private-sector job figures were upwardly revised, but the unemployment rate continues to surge in August for the first time in four months.

Scott Brown, an economist at Raymond James, said “You’re still seeing broad-based job gains. It’s not strong, but it’s positive”. He added he sees no sign of the country slipping back into recession.

Records show nearly 8.4 million jobs were lost in 2008 and 2009. This year, private employers have added back 763,000 jobs, still the unemployment rate has barely moved from the 9.7 percent rate in January.

On the other hand, the underemployment rate (which encompass those who have given up looking for work and those who are working part time but would prefer full-time work) rose to 16.7 percent from 16.5 percent.

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